WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Residents of Wichita Falls and the surrounding areas are invited to a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, September 6, 2023, over a controversial contract extension for the sale of potentially billions of gallons of water to a new green hydrogen plant.

The meeting was organized by Wichita Falls Water Resources Commission member Steve Smith, who claims residents have not been given all the information and were even misled on some aspects of the proposed contract, with the group building the new hydrogen plant in Oklaunion in Wilbarger County.

Smith and others opposed to the deal said the residents and businesses dependent on the water from Lake Kemp should not be put at risk for years during times of severe drought.

City officials, on the other hand, claim none of the lake water the city has specific allocations for is part of the deal, and the contract has provisions to reduce water sales during droughts.

Smith said city officials have been invited to the meeting to answer questions, but as of Tuesday, he has no definite confirmations.

The town hall starts Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors Office on Call Field Road.